1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to clothing storage and hanging apparatuses and more particularly to hangers for clothing and accessories.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Traditionally, clothes hangers are used to hang portions of a garment. Some clothes hangers are made of a length of wire or plastic that is bent or formed into the general shape of an isosceles triangle with an obtuse vertex angle and including a hook extending from a point near the vertex. The triangular shape that is useful for hanging shirts or jackets by inserting corners of the triangle into sleeves of the garment with legs of the triangle extending gently upward along the shoulders of the garment. The horizontal bar along the base of the triangular shape is useful for hanging pants. In some embodiments, hanger clips are slidably mounted along the horizontal bar of the hanger. When so equipped, pants may be clipped at the waist to the hanger clips. Whether pants are folded over the horizontal bar or clipped to hanger clips, a garment on the frame of the hanger generally obscures the pants.
In other embodiments of a clothes hanger, legs of the triangular clothes hangers include notches for dress straps and shoulder straps of tank tops and other garments that do not have shoulders to engage the side corners of the hanger.
For storage, garment bag organizers are useful for hanging garments and accessories together. In one embodiment, the organizer is a clear plastic garment bag sized to enclose a garment on a hanger. Garments are hung on a traditional clothes hanger and then inserted into the bag with the hanger hook extending through an opening in the top of the garment bag. As such, the hanger hooks of hangers inside the bag are used for hanging the garment bag and its contents on a door, hook, or closet rod. The lower portion of the garment bag may include pockets to store socks, shoes, and accessories.
Another type of outfit storage is a garment bag for travel. Such a garment bag is typically made of flexible material and can fold on itself to a size suitable for travel. The garment bag has a single hook or connector inside the bag's compartment for hooking hangers. Hanging garments are placed on a hanger that hooks to the connector. Pockets may be attached along the inside corners of the garment bag compartment or to the outside surface of the garment bag. Using clothes hangers, one may store multiple outfits in the garment bag. The bag itself may hang from a door using a separate hook attached to the bag's frame. Alternately, the garment bag may be laid out on a bed or table.